


Pressure

by Megatraven



Series: Beginnings and Goodbyes [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Light Angst, may or may not get another part in the future, mlfandomweek, puns, rated t for feelings of inadequacy and depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7819042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megatraven/pseuds/Megatraven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ML Fandom Week | Day 6 | Puns</p><p>Pressure can make or break a lot of people and things. Marinette is one of those people, and even at her worst, Paris’ favorite cat wants to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pressure

Pressure.

Capable of making amazing things.

Also capable of breaking them.

It was what had prompted Marinette to get over her embarrassment in front of Adrien and work harder towards her goals.

It was what had pushed her over the edge and turned the strong, beautiful, and loving girl into a broken one.

It had gotten her her own website, where she could sell designs she modeled herself.

It had gotten her an unforeseen amount of hateful comments and threats.

It’s what made her Marinette.

It’s what moved her to stand alone, in the pouring rain, looking over the bridge’s side.

She sighed, crossing her arms and laying them in front of her, resting her face on them. The water below churned and the rain made it rise higher. In such weather, Marinette wasn’t sure if she’d finally been able to cry or not. She supposed it didn’t matter.

As she stood there, she thought about many things. Her parents. Alya. Adrien. Nino. Tikki. Chat Noir. Being Ladybug. Her dreams and passions. The hate she’d received. Her classmates trying to counter it. Chloe being _nice_  to her. The increasingly suspicious lack of akumas.

That last one made her sniffle. As the hate had begun pouring in, she found herself running across rooftops as Ladybug more and more. But the akumas lowered in number as her self-worth dropped. And then, out of nowhere, it seemed like Ladybug was no longer needed. Both Marinette and Ladybug weren’t needed.

At least, that’s what she felt like. That’s what others had made her feel like. She still tried to be cheerful, though. For the people who tried to rebuild her confidence. For the people she loved more than anything. It worked pretty well- people started to treat her normally again, rarely even mentioning what had happened. Adrien, however, only seemed to frown each time she put on a smile.

“Maybe he could see through my mask because he wears one too,” Marinette muttered to no one and nothing in particular. The water didn’t change with her words, and the storm carried on. Sighing, she closed her eyes, and as time passed, the beating of the rain and thrashing of the water lulled her into a detached calm. Only when she heard someone next to her did she crack an eye open. The rain made it hard to see anything, but even so, she had some kind of sixth sense that told her it was her partner standing next to her.

“How did you know I wear a mask too?” Chat asks in a light, teasing manner. When all she did was snort in response, he continued, “Anyways, sorry to _drop_ -” he gestures to the rain around them- “in una _meow_ nced, but I don’t want you to _cat_ ch a cold.” Then, from behind he back, he pulls out an umbrella that oddly reminds her of the one Adrien had given her so long ago. He opens it up and holds it over both their heads whilst he looks out at the river, as she does.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, not knowing what else to say. Since she was Chat’s partner in justice, she knew when he was being serious, and this was one of those times, despite the puns.

They stood there for awhile, in silence until Chat Noir could bear it no longer. “Say, Purrincess… are you alright? You’ve helped meowt befur, so any way I can help mew?” When all she gave him was a look that said ‘stop it,’ he said, “Alright, alright, I’m sorry. I’ll _rain_ in the puns” He chuckled for a moment, but it died out as Marinette curled in on herself a bit and turned away from him. Her frame shook, and guilt at not being serious enough twisted in his gut. “Hey… I’m sorry, really. I’ve seen everything going around and I just- I want you to know that if you need to talk or just be with someone, I’m here for you. And I get you’ve probably heard that from a lot of people but maybe… maybe hearing it from a superhero would help a little extra?” 

For a moment, he thought she wouldn’t respond again, or maybe she’d close herself off even more. And then, she turned to him, throwing her arms around him and squeezing with a strength he didn’t know she possessed. (In all fairness, he _should_  have known it- Marinette was one of the strongest people he knew, rivaling even Ladybug.) Surprised but happy she embraced him, he returned it, making sure to keep them both under the umbrella. Protected from the rain Chat Noir could feel Marinette crying into him, her tears warm against his suit as they soaked into it. Her body shook with sobs while Chat whispered comforts to her.

A good chunk of time passed them by, but neither cared. Eventually, Marinette’s sobs and crying faded and left her shaking in Chat’s arms, although it was more out of being cold and drenched than her turmoil. And, eventually, she broke the silence between them. “Chat, I… thank you. For standing here with me, for helping. I really appreciate it,” she told him, looking up at him.

“It wasn’t a purroblem, Marinette. I’ll always be here if you need me, alright?” She nodded, squeezing him tightly one more time. The pressure was returned until she finally pulled away from him.

“I should, uh, get home. I’ve got school tomorrow and… yeah,” she said, a little awkward at her excuse to leave.

“Yeah. Yeah, I have school too. Do you need an escort home or anything?” he asked her, watching her face for any sign he shouldn’t let her be alone. Seeing none, his gaze met her own, and he knew, then, that he would never want to see such incredible eyes look so sad again. But, surprisingly, even as sad as they were, there held an amazing amount of strength in their depths. He knew that this girl was strong. He _knew_  it. But, until that moment, he never truly realized that she was _this_  strong, even stronger than Ladybug. And whether it’s because he knows her a little better now or not didn’t matter. What did is the fact she was here, with him, existing. Living life, even in the face of challenges, in the face of despair and hopelessness. Yes, he’d seen Ladybug uncertain and unsure of herself before, but that couldn’t compare… actually, that’s exactly what Marinette seemed to be feeling, to some degree. _Not to mention she looked almost exactly as Ladybug had,_  he thought to himself.

“Nnnnno, I don’t think so. Home isn’t too far,” she said, reclaiming his focus. “But, really, thank you again. I’m still not… okay… just yet, but you helped a lot. So, thank you.”

And then she began to walk away, rain hammering down on her once more. He watched her walk away, hiding from the rain beneath his umbrella-

 _His umbrella_.

Because that’s exactly what it was. Or at least, it had been, awhile back. He’d stopped by Marinette’s earlier, in the hopes of talking to her as Chat then, but he’d only been met with an empty room. So, he’d taken an umbrella she had propped up on her balcony, and left to search for her. He hadn’t even realized that the umbrella he took was none other than the one he’d given her when they became friends. And now, he had to give it too her again. He new just the way to do it, too.

A few minutes passed when he saw her again. She’d made it home successfully, and stood out on her balcony, face turned to the heavens as the sky wept. He landed behind her with a small thud, alerting her to his presence.

“Thought you had school tomorrow, Chat,” she said, not moving from her position.

“I thought you did too, Princess. But I had to stop by to see you made it home safely- and to return your umbrella to you. As it turns out, I borrowed it earlier, and forgot I’d done so until you were already gone from sight.”

She did move then, turning around to look at him and glance at the umbrella. The tiniest of smiles lit up her features. “I knew it looked familiar,” she whispered, voice soft and nearly quieter than the rain around them.

He gripped the umbrella close to him, steeling his nerves for what he was about to do.

“Y-you know… until last year, I never went to school before. I never had friends. All of it was, for me, a bit new. This is new, too,” he said, gaze never wavering. When he finished speaking, he held the umbrella out as he did in the past.

She stared at him, wide-eyed but more sure than she had ever been in his presence. She reached out, her smile growing. Her hand closed over his for a moment before letting him go. Pulling the umbrella over her, she used her spare hand to wipe her eyes, which had began to tear up again. Her heart swelled with joy, and she even laughed a bit.

“Tha-” she had begun to say, interrupted as the umbrella closed on her for the second time since it had been in her possession. Chat laughed, just as he did when it was Adrien who witnessed it the first time. Marinette lifted it up, laughing with him before opening it back up. She stepped up to him and grabbed his hand with her free one. She held it in hers and squeezed, pressing her face into his chest. “Thank you,” she whispered to him.

He wrapped his arm around her and sighed contentedly. “Of course, Mari. Anything for you.”

The two stayed like that for a few minutes more, only separating when Marinette sneezed. Chat insisted she should get inside immediately, and she gave in. When was halfway into her room, she paused and turned slightly towards him.

“You should keep the umbrella. I don’t want you to get sick out in the rain either, you know. It would be very… un _fur_ tunate if you were to _cat_ ch a cold be _paws_  of me,” she said, grinning.

Returning the grin, he replied, “Alright, you’ve twisted my whiskers. I’ll take it and  _tail_ you all about my journey home tomorrow. Sweet dreams, _Meow_ rinette!”

He hopped away from her roof, almost missing the sound of her groan turning into quiet bells of laughter. He knew she wasn’t okay, not by a long shot but… well, hopefully he would be able to help her with that, as she’d helped everyone else. A smile graced his features as he thought about being able to help her- as both Chat _and_  Adrien.

So yeah, things weren’t okay.

But they would be in the future.

And he would help her get there.

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to contribute something to ML Fandom Week :') Hope you guys like it!


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